Robert Vermeire

1891–1976

Wrote the best-selling cocktail book, which was one of the first to integrate new European cocktails those from the America

Born in Belgium, Vermeire studied in Germany, and worked as a bartender in London, notably as the head bartender at the Embassy Club. Vermiere wrote “Cocktails: How to Mix Them” (1922), perhaps the most commercially successful bar guide of the “classic” era, with well over 100,000 copies printed. The book has most of the usual recipes, but documents many new European drinks, such as the Sidecar, and is particularly laudable for including attributions on many. For a few years, Vermeire ran his own bar—Robert’s—in his home town of Knokke, but lost it after the 1929 crash.